Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Stock Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its Northern Trust stake by 55.2% in the first quarter, holding 46,155 shares valued at approximately $6.44 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.19% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with Northern Trust receiving an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $180.25; individual targets range from $168 to $194.
• Northern Trust raised its quarterly dividend from $0.80 to $0.88 per share, equivalent to a $3.52 annualized payout and a 1.9% yield.

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 55.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,155 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 16,415 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth $257,410,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $126,794,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,723,516 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $235,415,000 after acquiring an additional 703,985 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 114.1% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,031,579 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $140,903,000 after acquiring an additional 549,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northern Trust from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $186.00 target price on Northern Trust in a research note on Friday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Northern Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $168.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $176.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.25.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $182.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $33.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.25. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $121.12 and a one year high of $191.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.24.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 27.47%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $166.41 per share, for a total transaction of $37,442.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,409.45. The trade was a 2.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation NASDAQ: NTRS is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company's core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust's product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.

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